This invention relates generally to swimming pool chemicals, and more specifically, it is concerned with a swimming pool chemical tablet and its storage container which are designed to cooperatively control the rate of dissolution of the swimming pool chemical into the water in a forced circulation flow system.
Swimming pool chemicals are routinely used in above ground and below ground swimming pools to control the quality of the water and the clarity of the water. Without such use, bacterial growth and algal growth will progress at a rate which will be unhealthy for bathers and which will create an aesthetically displeasing color in the pool water.
To prevent such occurrences, swimming pool chemicals have been developed which control the clearness of the water and the bacterial count. Typically, calcium hypochlorite and trichloroisocyanuric acid have been employed as swimming pool chemicals. These chemicals are placed in the pool by broadcast spreading of granular particles, dissolving of large aggolomerates, or the liquid feeding of the chemical into the water. Both types of chemicals have their advantages and disadvantages.
Calcium hypochlorite is a chemical that has been relatively easy to manufacture in bulk and which may be placed in a swimming pool by either broadcast spreading, a floating feeder or within a forced flow circulation system where water is pumped through a line into a skimmer immediately adjacent the swimming pool and into which agglomerates in particle form are placed. The circulation of the water through the skimmer into the swimming pool by the action of a pump causes the pool chemical to dissolve. However, calcium hypochlorite has the disadvantage of leaving either residue dispersed in the water in the pool or sediment which settles to the bottom of the pool and which is not dissolvable.
Trichloroisocyanuric acid, when used in agglomerated tablet form, has been found to leave little residue. In a forced flow circulation system these tablets dissolve relatively quickly, for example in a matter of a few days. However, this rapid dissolution rate necessitates frequent treatment of the pool by owners or those tasked with maintaining the quality of the water of the pool. Until now, it has been difficult to control the dissolving rate of trichlorisocyanuric acid tablets to be able to achieve a dissolving rate that permits the owner or maintainer of the pool to utilize a chemical once every ten or fourteen days. The inability to be able to control the dissolution rate of tablets of trichloroisocyanuric acid in skimmers has reduced the attractiveness of this product to the consumer since more frequent and time consuming treatments with the chemical were required.
The foregoing problem has been solved in the design of the present invention by providing a combination swimming pool chemical tablet and storage container which controls the rate of dissolution of the pool chemical tablet when water is circulated in a forced circulation flow system utilized with a swimming pool.